TABLE 1.
Baseline characteristics of the study population.
| Variable | Total | Single-inhaler triple therapy (SITT) | Multiple-inhaler triple therapy (MITT) | p-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 1328 | N = 535 | N = 793 | ||
| Age (years), mean (SD) | 64.9 (9.2) | 65.3 (9.2) | 64.6 (9.2) | 0.146 |
| Sex, n (%) | 0.183 | |||
| Male | 1162 (87.5) | 476 (89.0) | 686 (86.5) | |
| Female | 166 (12.5) | 59 (11.0) | 107 (13.5) | |
| Education, n (%) | 0.327 | |||
| Primary school | 581 (43.8) | 249 (46.5) | 332 (41.9) | |
| Junior high school | 477 (36.0) | 192 (35.6) | 285 (35.9) | |
| High school | 200 (15.0) | 69 (12.9) | 131 (16.5) | |
| University | 70 (5.2) | 25 (4.7) | 45 (5.5) | |
| BMI (kg/m2), mean (SD) | 23.2 (3.1) | 22.6 (3.2) | 23.4 (3.4) | 0.106 |
| Marriage status, n (%) | 0.196 | |||
| Married | 1253 (93.4) | 498 (92.2) | 746 (94.0) | |
| Unmarried | 75 (6.6) | 31 (17.8) | 44 (6.0) | |
| Smoking status, n (%) | 0.392 | |||
| Current smoker | 519 (39.1) | 215 (44.4) | 304 (38.4) | |
| Ex-smoker | 556 (41.9) | 228 (42.6) | 328 (41.4) | |
| Non-smoker | 252 (19.0) | 91 (17.0) | 161 (20.3) | |
| Biofuel exposure, n (%) | 0.009 | |||
| Yes | 495 (37.3) | 222 (41.5) | 273 (34.4) | |
| No | 833 (63.7) | 313 (58.5) | 520 (65.6) | |
| Occupational exposure, n (%) | 0.203 | |||
| Yes | 546 (41.1) | 231 (43.2) | 315 (49.7) | |
| No | 782 (58.9) | 304 (56.8) | 478 (60.3) | |
| CAT, mean (SD) | 15.2 (7.1) | 16.2 (6.8) | 14.6 (7.1) | < 0.001 |
| mMRC, n (%) | 0.013 | |||
| 0–1 | 273 (23.7) | 111 (20.7) | 212 (26.7) | |
| 2–4 | 878 (76.3) | 424 (79.3) | 581 (73.3) | |
| CCQ, mean (SD) | 21.9 ± 8.2 | 22.5 ± 8.5 | 21.5 ± 8.0 | 0.031 |
| GOLD group | 0.000 | |||
| A | 109 (8.2) | 31 (5.8) | 78 (9.8) | |
| B | 556 (41.9) | 200 (37.4) | 356 (44.9) | |
| C | 42 (3.2) | 13 (2.4) | 29 (3.7) | |
| D | 621 (46.8) | 291 (54.4) | 330 (41.6) | |
| FEV1L, median (IQR) | 1.1 (0.72) | 1.1 (0.6) | 1.2 (0.7) | 0.011 |
| FEV1 (% predicted), mean (SD) | 48.6 (17.1) | 46.1 (16.0) | 50.1 (17.4) | < 0.001 |
| FEV1/FVC, mean ± SD | 45.0 (12.6) | 43.2 (11.5) | 46.0 (12.5) | 0.001 |
| Exacerbations in the past year, median (IQR) | 01) | 01) | 01) | 0.117 |
| Exacerbations, n (%) | < 0.001 | |||
| Yes | 744 (56.0) | 338 (63.2) | 406 (51.2) | |
| No | 584 (44.0) | 197 (36.8) | 387 (48.8) |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; COPD, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; CAT, COPD assessment test; CCQ, clinical COPD questionnaire; FEV1, forced expiratory volume in 1 second; FVC, forced vital capacity; GOLD, Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease; ICSs, inhaled corticosteroids; IQR, interquartile range; LABA, long-acting β-2-agonist; LAMA, long-acting muscarinic antagonist; mMRC, modified Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale; MITT, multiple triple-inhaler therapy; SITT, single triple-inhaler therapy.